Given a specified starting point, and a specified destination, or end point, a variety of possible routes and/or modes of transport may be possible between the starting point and the endpoint. For example, in an urban area, one or more of walking, various modes of public transportation such as buses, light rail, etc., bicycling, using a motor scooter, driving a vehicle such as a car, etc., car sharing or other ride sharing, may be used to travel from a starting point to a destination point. A route that incorporates more than one such mode of transport, e.g., having different segments that are traversed using different respective modes of transport, is sometimes referred to as a multi-modal route.
Various costs may be associated with various portions of a route between a starting point and an end point, e.g., travel time and other travel costs, e.g., fuel costs, pollution emissions, economic costs, parking costs etc. Some or all of these costs may be at least in part dependent upon a mode of transport used for a route portion. Further, where some or all of a route may be traversed using a vehicle, some or all of the costs of a route, or at least one or more portions thereof, may be affected by a type of vehicle. However, mechanisms are currently lacking for taking into account a type of vehicle and other factors in optimizing a route between a specified starting point and a specified destination point.